[Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

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wsteffe
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by wsteffe »

Of course the choice between staying with official FC or with RT depends on your specific needs.

In my case official FC is not an option because I really need to have the possibility to (in example) extrude many solids with from a single sketch containing several contours. And I need to have all of them (which may be many thousends in the case of a PCB) in the same Body.

For me it is the RT branch that is year ahead (not behind) the development version of FC. But again it depens on your needs and on the importance you assign to any specific capability.

I am also looking forward to see the merging of TNP and a decreasing of the differences between official and RT branches.
But I am quite sceptical about the possibility of using, in a near feature, the official FC code because I do not see any will (from the FC developers) to incorporate other capabilities that are very important to me such as, in example, the hybrid modeling (solid+surfaces) in PD.
chrisb
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by chrisb »

I don't need surfaces in PartDesign, but using a similar technique to create individually shaped "DatumSurfaces" for references could indeed be helpful.
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onekk
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by onekk »

wsteffe wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:51 pm But I am quite sceptical about the possibility of using, in a near feature, the official FC code because I do not see any will (from the FC developers) to incorporate other capabilities that are very important to me such as, in example, the hybrid modeling (solid+surfaces) in PD.
As said it is not a "not willing", IMHO, as solid + surfaces is not contemplated in any "solid modeler" algorithm, that has the goal to produce solids.

Your peculiar use case, will show surfaces, as boundaries of something, so it is a more cosmetic things, (in sense of visualize something different to solids)

BREP (see maybe the wikipedia entry) is to define surfaces that "enclose" a 3d space to form a solid, a surface alone in "3D modelling" is a "non sense" if it is not finalized to be a "boundary".

RT seems to have incorporated some "Assembly capabilities" to "PD Body", as his "RT Branch" as a sort of bundle of FC + Assembly3, in this sense there are some reasons to incorporate some Assembly functions in a "PD Body".

As said earlier I see no competition between FC and "RT branch" simply different targets, as "RT Branch" has way more tools as it incorporate tightly Asm3, and some people prefer Asm4 or Asm2+ to make Assembly.

The real change would be if FC developers decide to make an "official Assembly WB" that hopefully incorporate tools that permit to manage different tasks, and workflows.

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Carlo D.
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FBXL5
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by FBXL5 »

I would like PD tool to use open or closed outlines to create profiles or frames with constant thickness. SheetMetal Make_Base_Wall works like this for open contours only.

A constant thickness option for PD tools such as pad, revolution, loft,and pipe would be great. It has to be aktivated by default for open countours and could be a choice for closed outlines in combination with another choice to omit top and bottom faces.

That would create thin-walled objects but not surfaces. (I still think Part tools are the better choice to create simple surfaces)
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adrianinsaval
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by adrianinsaval »

onekk wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:28 am BREP (see maybe the wikipedia entry) is to define surfaces that "enclose" a 3d space to form a solid, a surface alone in "3D modelling" is a "non sense" if it is not finalized to be a "boundary".
I don't think that's entirely true, a surface is also defined with it's boundaries in OCCT, PD is BREP too, everything that uses OCCT in FreeCAD is BREP. In any case Part WB is the one that's usually compared to CSG workflow rather than Part Design.
wsteffe
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by wsteffe »

FBXL5 wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:43 pm That would create thin-walled objects but not surfaces. (I still think Part tools are the better choice to create simple surfaces)
I agree that making create thin-walled objects in PD WB would be a nice to have. But also making simple surfaces is important in my use case. I know that this can be done in Part but in this way I would miss the Multy Body structure which is also very important to me.

In the RT branch a Body is not strictly a Body. In fact it is a more general container which may hold several solids ans also several surfaces.
This kind of data structure is very important to me for two reasons:
  • Body names are exported in a step file so that they may also be imported in my EM simulator.
    In example I may put a set surfaces representing planar metalizations on a given PCB layer into a named body which is recognized as a single entity when imported in my EM simulator (you may look at https://www.klayout.de/forum/uploads/ed ... webigc.png to have an example).
    Thanks to that I may easily assign an electric property (in example a surface conductivity) to all the surfaces included in the Body.
  • It is possible to assign a different placement to each Body which may be very helpful.
There are still things that can be done only with Part but less of them are in RT Branch because RT has ported some more into PD. Honestly I think that there is no technical reason to have a Part WB separated from PD WB and that all Part features should be ported into PD so that the latter may be deprecated.
Piero69
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by Piero69 »

I simply think that PD should be complete like in all CADs, running around other WBs to find a feature is not a normal way to act.

All the cads are founded on three linked "environments" (PD-Assembly and TechDraw) that should be complete and default loaded like standard. PD is substantially stationary for too long time, no enhancements, no new features no new abilities. Implementing at least some features like in part is a good idea rather that be stationary for years
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Shalmeneser
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by Shalmeneser »

FC is not other CAD.
Workbenches are the power of FC : anybody can create one and no wb can contain everything.
PD wb is really not static.
chrisb
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by chrisb »

Piero69 wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:57 am I simply think that PD should be complete like in all CADs, running around other WBs to find a feature is not a normal way to act.

All the cads are founded on three linked "environments" (PD-Assembly and TechDraw) that should be complete and default loaded like standard. PD is substantially stationary for too long time, no enhancements, no new features no new abilities. Implementing at least some features like in part is a good idea rather that be stationary for years
I don't quite understand this post. Is it an offer to develop additional features for PartDesign? Or just a very generic wish to get more of what all other CAD systems have. I'm afraid that the common of all - and you should then really take all, and not only all you may know now - is simply empty. And PartDesign offers much more than nothing :mrgreen: .
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adrianinsaval
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Re: [Feature idea/development/request ]: Ability for PD to accept open sketch to create surfaces

Post by adrianinsaval »

Piero69 wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 6:57 am PD is substantially stationary for too long time, no enhancements, no new features no new abilities. Implementing at least some features like in part is a good idea rather that be stationary for years
Not true, in recent times we got helix, loft to point, tapered pad, multi nested profile support, 2D offset in subshapebinders, fillet and chamfer on all edges, sketch plane selection improvements. It might not be big shinny things but PD keeps improving.
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